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Old 08-13-2012, 12:10 PM
HorseSoldier HorseSoldier is offline
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Location: Anchorage, AK
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For a mech squad, the previously mentioned 47th ID is a more likely source -- at least for the vehicle. Of course, after the nukes and the fighting in theater, you could easily have some or all of one of 47th ID's mechanized battalions cut off with the rest of X Corps instead of withdrawn to the Pac Northwest.

Also, the T2K 10th Mountain Division was supposed to have one light motorized infantry battalion, which includes a company of LAV-25s, so that's an option. Or go with the idea that said battalion or the division's also-TK world light tank battalion got some M113s during reconstitution after the fighting in Norway.

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Yeah, sending the 10th to Alaska/Canada instead of the 6th was one of the T2k things that had me scratching my head. I would think you'd want the 6th to go since they'd practically be in their own backyard.
10th Mtn got sent to Alaska as an emergency reinforcement. Going by the unit histories, 10th Mtn was out of the line reconstituting for a few months. 6th ID(L) was getting chewed up trying to force the Litsa River Line way up north in the same time frame.

Of the two divisions, 10th Mountain was the more capable option at the time when they needed troops for AK.

That said, I question the idea of taking 6th ID(L) out of Alaska at all -- in a universe where the Soviets were actually capable of pumping a couple Armies across the Pacific into Alaska and Pacific Canada, I'm increasingly skeptical about the logic of having less than a Corps or so to meet them there.

My personal order of battle for the region I've been pushing around on my hard drive for a while is X Corps made up of 6th ID(L), 47th ID reinforcing on mobilization, with 207th Infantry Group (Scout) and 208th Infantry Group (Lt Motorized) from the AK National Guard and 2nd Canadian Division.

AK National Guard notes: In real life, the AK ARNG at the height of the Reagan years had six infantry battalions. One was a round-out unit for 6th ID (in addition to 205th Infantry Brigade, USAR). Another one (maybe even two) were mechanized formations (taking over the heavy role back in the day, I think, when 171st and 172nd Brigades reroled from mechanized to light in the early 70s. The remainder were very light organizations with a special MTOE for the "Scout" status.

The six battalions are where I think GDW got their "1st & 2nd Infantry (Arctic Recon) Brigades," based on a list somewhere showing six battalions under 207th Inf Gp.

Personally, I sort of split the difference between GDW and reality and posit the post-1991 continued military buildup in the T2K timeline (1st ed) you get 6th ID(L) replacing the AK ARNG round-out battalion with 1-172nd Infantry (Mtn) out of Vermont. With six battalions to work with, the AK ARNG fields 207th Infantry Group (Scout) as a true light infantry brigade, and 208th Infantry Group (Lt Motorized) basically filling the armored cavalry role for the the 6th ID + 47th ID corps sized formation that US Army Alaska (USARAL back then, USARAK nowadays) would field on full mobilization.

208th has a specialized MTOE consisting of two SUSV-mobile light motorized infantry battalions (AK NG) and a light armored/assault gun battalion and artillery battalion out of the Minnesota NG (the armor battalion, 2-94 AR is fictional, but the artillery battalion is one of the ones on the Nato 1989 orbat which doesn't seem to otherwise have a home anyway).

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I'm still working out "who" the PCs should be. There's the 501st Infantry Regiment (Airborne) or the 207th Infantry Group (Alaska National Guard).
As other noted, 1-501st was part of 6th ID back then, and goes where they go, if they leave theater. (When 6th ID gets to Europe, I could see them getting rolled into SETAF, possibly forming or augmenting the 173rd Abn to Africa campaign idea . . .)

207th had an airborne reconnaissance unit (what would today be a LRSC, but back then I think they were called the 207th Light Recon Company (Abn) -- though by '95 "Long Range Surveillance" as a unit type might have been in the works) as well.
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